In January this year, many restaurant owners complained about the bleak business. Many restaurants have seen a lot of business decline compared to the same period last year, and some even have fallen by 40%-50%. Newcomers to catering are even more tormented, and the business of some stores that have just opened has plummeted. The competition for low prices is fierce, and the balance between supply and demand in the catering market has been seriously broken.
For example, a food court in Beijing was sparsely populated after it opened, with only about 20 customers at the table, and the cleaners were in a daze. Although the mall is home to more than 60 restaurants, the footfall is still not high. This is just a microcosm, and the entire F&B market is facing a highly competitive situation. Restaurateurs generally believe that spending power and activity are gradually declining, leading to a dismal business.
Some bosses have already begun to consider transforming or abandoning their operations. Low-price competition has been formed, and the balance between supply and demand in the catering market has been seriously broken. In 2024, the F&B industry will face an imbalance between supply and demand, with new stores opening faster than store closing.
According to statistics, 588 new commercial projects will be opened nationwide in 2023, and 514 projects are expected to open in 2024, of which high-tier cities account for more than 60%. This has led to fierce competition in the catering market, and the war has intensified. The survival cycle of the catering industry is shortened, and it is easy to open a store and difficult to close.
According to the data provided by Qichacha, 3.18 million new catering-related enterprises were opened last year, while 135 enterprises were cancelled and revoked90,000, of which 2880,000 were founded and then closed down within a year. And this is just statistics, the reality may be even more dire. The recovery and demise of the catering industry in 2023 will be much stronger than in the past three years. Especially during the New Year's period, the catering industry is even more difficult.
After New Year's Day, the catering industry will once again usher in a more ferocious wave of discounts, and many stores will launch a one-fold and two-fold discount, which will increase the pressure on catering people. In general, the catering industry will face difficulties such as imbalance between supply and demand and fierce war in 2024, with a shortened survival cycle and an accelerated store closure.
F&B operators need to face these challenges and find ways to innovate and differentiate in order to survive the competition. At present, the catering industry is facing serious challenges. Due to the impact of the epidemic, consumers' consumption concepts and consumption habits have changed, coupled with the problem of the first chain and the rise in operating costs, many catering companies are facing a survival dilemma.
For owners who have already prepared a branch and are about to open, they find it difficult to attract consumers even with a 5% discount campaign under the current situation. As a result, they decided to postpone their plans to open a store. And the more bosses**, the uncertainty next year may be greater, and the real test is after the year.
On the one hand, some radical entrepreneurs may choose to open stores at the end of the year, because at this time, a large number of shops are closed and cleared, and they think this is a good opportunity. At the same time, some professional players and cross-border bigwigs with resources will also enter the game, and the competition will be more intense. On the other hand, some "veterans" are cautious, believing that the current situation will dissuade entrepreneurs.
A restaurateur said he had planned to open another restaurant a year ago, but business had been bad for the past two months, and he began to worry about the risks of opening a restaurant. If business is still so bad after the Chinese New Year, the cold winter of catering may have just begun. In short, under the 5 trillion catering market, restaurant bosses are facing great pressure and challenges. They need to find business strategies that adapt to the new situation in order to cope with the current predicament.